BIRMINGHAM, Alabama --
Just after 11 a.m. Monday, a recording of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a
Dream" speech boomed over Kelly Ingram Park -- the site of many notable protests
during the Civil Rights Movement he championed -- while the hundreds of people
gathered in the park celebrated King's memory with fellowship and education.

"Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free
at last," King said, as his speech faded into a soul song. Vendors lining the
sidewalk hocked T-shirts or hot dogs and other concessions, and a mobile blood
collection vehicle parked at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church took blood
donations.

Earlier in the day, brothers of the Iota Chapter of Alpha
Phi Alpha fraternity joined hands during the annual laying of wreaths at the
King statue. Afterwards, families milled around the park, experiencing James
Drake's sculptures depicting the brutalities of the Movement, or headed over to
the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, where admission is free on MLK Jr. Day.

Among those in the park was Birmingham City Councilor Steven
Hoyt, who said attending the festivities at Kelly Ingram Park "has become a
tradition" for him. He noted that the day "brings people from all walks of life,"
and of all ethnicities together in the park.

"I think it's wonderful, because at the end of the day, I
think we have more in common than we have differences," Hoyt said.

Hoyt pointed out the line full of families building in the
courtyard of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

"It's important that we teach our young people, because we
realize that not many of them understand what those persons must have went
through in order to get to this stage," Hoyt said. "But I think the balance of
that is to teach them how important it is to have those very -- I call them 'meager
rights,' because everybody should have them -- and unfortunately that's not always
the case."

Ahmad Ward, the head of education at BCRI, said that he sees
many returning faces, people for whom visiting the institute on this holiday
had become a tradition.

"We are fully expecting to see about 3,000 people," Ward
said. "We've averaged about 3,000 people the past five years." At noon, Ward
estimated the center had already admitted 600 to 700 people, but the big push
would come after a march from City Hall to Kelly Ingram Park wrapped up later in
the afternoon.

"Some people do this every year, and we are glad to see the
folks," Ward said. "We're going to be here until we get them in." He noted that
BCRI will be open on Mondays (when it is normally closed) from today through
February, which is Black History Month.

Outside in the BCRI courtyard, volunteers from Operation
Hope -- an organization that offers financial emergency preparedness services to
individuals and small businesses -- canvassed people walking into and out of the
Institute.

Damian Carson, program manager for the Birmingham Central
branch of Operation Hope, said the group handed out disaster preparation information,
including an Emergency Financial First Aid Kit, to about a thousand people.

Back in the park, where people awaited the marchers,
Birmingham City Councilor Sheila Tyson said she came out to gauge the progress
being made in the region.

"It's not only good to celebrate a person's birthday, but what
they stood for -- has there been a change, is it getting better, is it getting
worse?" she said.

Tyson said people are worried about health care after the
closing of Cooper Green Mercy Hospital by the county last year, increases in
sewer and water bills, and other concerns.

"There's so many issues that this county and this state is carrying
on their shoulders, so what are we going to do about it?" she said, adding that everybody
needs to pitch in.

"Everyone has a voice, everyone has something that they can
do to improve the quality of life" of others, she said.